Trying to think through options, hopefully writing it down will help.

Been on the look out for a L&K in the £8-£10k bracket for a while now.

Very few come up and tend to be either very high mileages 70k+ or older.

Ideal estate DSG even fewer around but hatch manual will do the job.

Seen a 1.6 CR Elegance 2009(59) with 60k also satnav (2y old, anything to look out for with this mileage on the 1.6?)

they also have L&K 2.0pd DSG 2007(56) with 38k (4.5y old, not sure cambelt done)

both askng around £9k, there is also a 08 1.8 L&K 42k near those at anothe dealer for £8.5k but tax/insurance will be higher.

The 1.6 should be lower insurance, tax and much better fuel economy also more refined than the PD options.

newer FL but less toys than the L&K memory seats being the main usefull one for us, but not many elegance around with them.

Anticipated(could change) mileage will be lowish 5k-8k, mix local and the odd longer run making the high mileage less of an issue also make petrol options become viable which will bring the 1.6 MPI into the price range soon as the odd one comes up second hand so even newer.

we tend to keep cars long term so younger has advantages, I am thinking that costs over about 4 years with lowish mileage the 1.6 cr will be much cheaper with the extra depretiation allready factored for mileage.

There is the option to keep the 13y old 306 if it gets through an MOT cheaply(as I have for the last 2) keeping the £9k in the bank for another year.

Bit of a ramble but realy canot make up my mind what to do.

I'd go with diesel, 1.9, manual, elegance. The manual / 1.9 combo is bulletproof and running costs are low. The only advantage to l&k spec over elegance is Xenons and memory seats. Seats can have a mind of their own and manual adjusters provide better seat position fine tuning. Xenons are good but a costly extra and costly to replace. L&k has leather seats but later models have only half leather and a lot of them have cream leather. Just a thought.

At that kind of milage I would be looking at a Petrol.

When SWMBO bought her Rav4 2 years ago we looked at the costs of cost to buy/fuel/servicing/depreciation/Road Tax/Insurance etc and did alot of research in the figures people & marketing advise.

Basically if we bought the Diesel Rav4 (same spec) it would have cost us an extra £2000+, so by the time we had taken into account the extra cost to buy/servicing/insurance for the diesel, against the lower mpg (not that much lower)/higher road tax for the Petrol, we would need todo twice the milage we do now and keep the car for a minimum of 5years to make it worth buying the Diesel.

I'd go with diesel, 1.9, manual, elegance. The manual / 1.9 combo is bulletproof and running costs are low. The only advantage to l&k spec over elegance is Xenons and memory seats. Seats can have a mind of their own and manual adjusters provide better seat position fine tuning. Xenons are good but a costly extra and costly to replace. L&k has leather seats but later models have only half leather and a lot of them have cream leather. Just a thought.

Thanks, I think you might be right.

Looking for something that gets us a to b, more comfortable, a bit quicker with more space than the 306(so we don't have to drop the back seats all the time to get 2 bags in or carry stuff) with reasonable running costs, dual zone air and memory seats(we are very different sizes) were the things we were keen on. Lack of available samples so I think falling back to the 1.9 elegance is worth a look might be better long term option(also less to go wrong).

will have a look and see what is available.

At that kind of milage I would be looking at a Petrol.

When SWMBO bought her Rav4 2 years ago we looked at the costs of cost to buy/fuel/servicing/depreciation/Road Tax/Insurance etc and did alot of research in the figures people & marketing advise.

Basically if we bought the Diesel Rav4 (same spec) it would have cost us an extra £2000+, so by the time we had taken into account the extra cost to buy/servicing/insurance for the diesel, against the lower mpg (not that much lower)/higher road tax for the Petrol, we would need todo twice the milage we do now and keep the car for a minimum of 5years to make it worth buying the Diesel.

Thanks, have thought about it but tend to follow the once its paid for running costs count(I know total cost is more important)

There is the risk I might get a job that needs a commute which will swing it back , we run 2 diesels now and think they are cheaper than the petrols woud have been, we got them both relatively cheap so upfront reduced and residuals will be scrap/banger with MOT.

(before that it was primera GT and 200sx)

Guess a 1.6 petrol might be worth a look, there might be a newish MPE elegance about otherwise it will be the FSI.

The great thing about older diesels is they seem to run forever if you change the oil.

Spooky!

I was in an almost identical situation to you last week.

Just sold my 12 year old 306...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250902626547?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649

And with a budget of £9-10K bought this high spec vRS...

I'd go with diesel, 1.9, manual, elegance. The manual / 1.9 combo is bulletproof and running costs are low. The only advantage to l&k spec over elegance is Xenons and memory seats. Seats can have a mind of their own and manual adjusters provide better seat position fine tuning. Xenons are good but a costly extra and costly to replace. L&k has leather seats but later models have only half leather and a lot of them have cream leather. Just a thought.

I agree the 1.9 TDi is a cracking engine but your comment about manual seats being more adjustable than electric ones is soooo wrong.

If either of you suffer with back problems then the rather crude lumbar support adjustment on the manual seats may cause you trouble, on the other hand the electrically adjustable lumbar support adjustment is spot on .

I struggle to do an hours driving in a seat that I cannot get good lumbar support (ie every manually adjustable 'cam system' lumbar support fitted in every VAG car I have driven), yet with my electric seat (and the Recaro seat I fitted to my previous Superb) 4hrs + driving is no problem at all.

As for xenon's - they are very easy to dismiss if you have never had them..... but once you have it is a different story altogether, I would NEVER willingly buy a car without them now.

Begining to think I might have to look at hatches(seems there is boot floor that makes it estate ish)

when.

1.9 Elegance DSG estate 05 80k for £5k in a small dealer not too far.

Older and higher mileage than was aiming for but cheaper, but is it cheap enough and worth a look.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201142422688894

Not sure what was standard spec at that age. anything to look ut for?

Did have a look at another one near Heathrow, 06 60k £6k probably genuine but a bit tatty from family use needing more than a clean.

Having driven an old DSG and the new DSG they are poles apart - the old one is the pigs ear whilst the new one is silky smooth.

It appears you're budget is a major consideration, as with any change of car, but if you get an older model with DSG you're asking for trouble, at least financially if it packs in!

The hatch has the same size boot floor, it's just the extra height at the back end giving the overall advantage. If you don't NEED an estate, save some cash and get a hatch.

Higher mileage isn't necessarily a problem, as mentioned before the 1.9 unit goes for ever, if it's been serviced and well maintained. Mate of mine bought and 02 plate with 90k on the clock and it now has 190k on the clock!

If you buy from a franchised Skoda dealer you'll also get 12 months free warranty for peace of mind.

Just had a quick look on Autotrader and there are plenty of 1.9 Elegance models, hatch and estate, for under £7k. E.g. an 06 plate silver 1.9 Elegance hatch with 37k on the clock for just over £6k!

Also try Pistonheads website.

Happy hunting!

Regards

thanks, think I will give that one a miss because of the older DSG

Now I have found there is a false boot floor giving flat load space for the hatch, dropping estate and DSG should give a wider choice.

budget flexable but like to keep m money start the pot for the next one

Current banger goes in for MOT next week so will see if this becomes more urgent then

Have you given all the options you're looking at a test drive yet?

While I agree that the DSG system has improved over the years, you might well find that you get on fine with it.

Try, and see how you get on :yes: